At last! South Shore rides again with Greenbush revival

Officials and residents in five South Shore towns celebrated the return of rail service on the Greenbush line, which has been dormant for almost five decades.

Jennifer Mann

Alan Leggett of Duxbury rode the last train out of Boston to the South Shore on the old Greenbush line in 1959. So it was only fitting, the 76-year-old said, that he be at the train station at 5:44 a.m. today.

“I got the last one so I figured I should get the first one,” he said.

For about 50 early-risers waiting for the train at the Greenbush station in Scituate, it was about more than making history. It was about the convenience.

“This will definitely be better than the boat in winter,” said Susan Dougan, 30, of Scituate, who boarded the restored rail line today for her commute to work in Boston.

The parking lots at the North Scituate and Cohasset stations were each less than one-third full at about 7 a.m.

But riders interviewed today said they expect the trains will catch on fast. “It’s wonderful, especially with the price of gas these days,” said Joseph Lima of Scituate.
While many South Shore residents drove cars into Boston on Tuesday for the Red Sox victory celebration, hundreds of others traveled in the opposite direction – toward Scituate, via commuter rail, to mark the rebirth of the Greenbush line.

“This is a rolling rally that is about making people’s lives better in a number of ways,” Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said. “This has been a magnificent day, a true community celebration up and down the South Shore.”

State and local officials joined residents of five towns along the Greenbush corridor celebrating the return of rail service on a line dormant for almost five decades.

Murray said the state’s first new railroad to open in 10 years “is really in many ways going to be a blueprint for how we expand rail and improve it in the state.”

As the train rumbled from South Station in Boston to Scituate’s Greenbush station – passing through Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham and Cohasset, with a ribbon cutting at each stop – there were many cries of “at last!”

“The ‘at last’ part is understandable – it takes a long time to build a train line,” said state Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen, when asked about the reaction. “But the thing to focus on today is it’s here, and ready to roll.”

The inaugural run Tuesday brought out young and old, with cheers and very few jeers despite the project’s 25-year controversial history.

Greenbush began as a Dukakis-era attempt to solve chronic traffic problems on the South Shore. It set off years of protests and lawsuits, with concerns about running 17.7 miles of steel track through some dense residential and environmentally-sensitive areas.

“It ran when I was a young girl, so I wasn’t concerned,” said Judy Derbyshire, who came out with five of her girlfriends from Hingham. “I love it. It’s very exciting.”

Years of delays – including a six-month hiatus that former Gov. Mitt Romney used to review the merits of the project – and costly permitting and legal battles pushed the
bottom line from $215 million to a current price tag of more than $500 million.

The Greenbush debate had some residents wading into political waters for the first time. To ease concerns, the MBTA agreed to accommodations including a $40 million, 890-foot tunnel under Hingham Square and “critter crossings” for endangered species.

The line also features quadrant gates at major grade crossings – an extra safety measure and expense other commuter rail lines in the state are without.

“We’ve tried to address concerns about both the environment and safety,” said MBTA general manager Daniel Grabauskas, at the North Scituate stop.

He estimated Greenbush will take nearly 5,000 cars off the road, reducing troublesome traffic on Route 3 and the resulting air pollution.

Jay Cashman, whose construction company Jay Cashman Inc. partnered with a subsidiary of England-based Cashman/Balfour Beatty to work on the rail line, broke out cigars at the Weymouth Landing stop.

“It’s great to see the completion of the project – on the other hand, it means we’ve got to find ourselves a new job,” he joked.

Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, an early and outspoken critic of the Greenbush project, wasn’t so quick to celebrate.

With a glance out the train window as it thundered by a former home of his in Weymouth, he said: “Nobody I’ve spoken with has really said anything that would allay my concerns about safety.”

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